RallyNorth.net

Andover wins OT thriller

Allen Gao booted home a goal top shelf with his left foot in double-overtime, to give surging No. 16 seed Andover boys soccer a 3-2 victory over No. 8 St. John's Prep in the Division 1 North quarterfinals on Thursday night.

The win sends Andover to the Division 1 North semifinals for the first time since the 2003 season."This was an absolutely phenomenal win," said Andover coach Jim Saalfrank. "St. John's is one of the most talented teams we have played all season. They battled until the end, and we are thrilled to win."

The Golden Warriors (11-7-3) will next take on No. 4 Medford (16-3-1) on Monday at 7 p.m. at Manning Field in Lynn.

This was the latest upset for Andover, which is 9-1-1 since the start of October and unbeaten in its last eight contests, including a win over top-seeded Lynn English. 

Zoah Silva-Landry and Anton Pace - who heading one home off a corner with 15 minutes to play - added the first two goals for the Golden Warriors on Thursday.

 St. John's Prep tied the game with under a minute to play in regulation. But in the two extra sessions, the Eagles could not again beat Andover goalie Joe Atwood, who finished the game with 12 saves. 

A win on Monday would send Andover to the Division 1 North title game for the first time since the 1995 season. 

"We lost on a great goal; the kid hit the top corner, what can you do?," said Eagles head coach Dave Crowell. "Andover is making a run. They just grinded out a win."